Kira Izuru looked at the dead Abirama with no trace of guilt in his heart.
The flower of the Third Division was the marigold, whose meaning was despair. This was also the core ideology of the Third Division – battle should never be seen as something heroic.
Every member of the Third Division deliberately created an atmosphere of despair in battle, gloomy and terrifying.
Because battle was always cruel. Only by making others fear it would they choose to avoid the path of fighting altogether.
Therefore, unlike Abirama's thinking, Kira Izuru believed that his Zanpakuto, Wabisuke, best embodied the spirit of the Third Division.
Of course, the current Third Division Captain, Amagai Shuusuke, his Zanpakuto didn't quite match this ideology of despair.
However, if Amagai Shuusuke used the Bakkōtō, then yes, it would become an absolute despair and terror for any Shinigami.
Meanwhile, Hisagi Shuuhei's opponent was an Arrancar who claimed he could freely shift his power between Captain-level and seated officer level – Findorr Calius.
This Arrancar was quite interesting. Normally, Arrancars or Hollows would try to protect their masks from damage.
Not just Arrancars – even the Visoreds and Ichigo in the original series were like this. Once their mask was damaged, their power would drastically fall.
But this Findorr Calius was the complete opposite.
His way of increasing his power was to break parts of his mask. For every fragment he shattered, his strength would rise by one level.
This setting was similar to Zaraki Kenpachi's eyepatch, but the difference was that Kenpachi did it intentionally, while Calius' ability was a passive skill.
Despite facing such an opponent, Hisagi Shuuhei showed no fear. No matter how much Calius boosted his power, Shuuhei simply stood his ground and blocked each attack with his Zanpakuto.
At first, Calius broke small pieces of his mask to test Hisagi Shuuhei's power, gradually increasing his strength from Fifth Seat level upwards.
After evaluating Shuuhei's abilities, he smashed his mask down to leave only a small piece at his eye corner.
"Hahahaha! Now, my power has reached Vice-Captain level!" Calius shouted proudly, firing a Bala from his Zanpakuto that directly forced Shuuhei onto the defensive.
Shuuhei had to keep using Shunpo to dodge Calius' relentless Bala attacks, unable to stay within his range for long.
However, under such continuous assault, Shuuhei was eventually struck directly by a Bala.
Like a kite with its string cut, Hisagi Shuuhei fell towards the ground, but he quickly stabilized himself in mid-air.
Seeing this, Calius thought Shuuhei had reached his limit. He immediately released his Resurrección to finish him off in one strike.
"Engrave yourself upon the water's surface, Pinza Aguda!"
Purple spiritual pressure enveloped Calius' entire body. When it cleared like a nuclear explosion, his new form appeared before Shuuhei's eyes.
He now looked like a giant mantis shrimp, but unlike a shrimp, only his right side was covered in white armor. His right arm had transformed into a massive claw as tall as a person, while his left hand, though mostly unchanged, had gained a claw-like gauntlet.
Facing this form, Hisagi Shuuhei felt a slight sense of threat.
Calius, however, became smug.
"Now, in this form, I have the power of a Captain-class Shinigami!"
Hearing that almost made Shuuhei laugh. Good grief, he wondered how drunk this Arrancar was to think he had Captain-class power.
Seeing Shuuhei's mocking smile, Calius raged, aiming his huge claw at Shuuhei and shooting a high-pressure water blast.
Shuuhei dodged continuously, knowing he couldn't afford to be hit even once.
"Hahahaha! Why are you running? Are you afraid of my attacks?" Calius shouted excitedly, continuously spraying his water cannon.
Shuuhei jumped high into the sky with Shunpo, while Calius followed him with streams of high-pressure water.
Shuuhei swung his Zanpakuto to block, but the continuous torrent soon surrounded him in a giant white water sphere, swallowing him completely.
But it didn't endanger Shuuhei. Instead, it finally made him release his Shikai.
"Reap, Kazeshini!"
Two scythes appeared in his hands, slicing apart the water sphere into sprays of droplets.
Not only that, but Shuuhei's spiritual pressure also leapt dramatically.
Calius looked at him in disbelief. He never imagined Shuuhei was hiding such powerful strength.
Shuuhei gazed back emotionlessly.
Seeing his scythes, Calius shivered. Shuuhei then spoke:
"I hate its appearance. Look at Kazeshini – its very shape screams to claim heads."
That sentence sent a cold chill down Calius' spine. Shuuhei wasn't joking.
Shuuhei then hurled one of his scythes at Calius. Though Calius dodged with Sonído, the swift blade still sliced off a lock of his hair.
Even Sonído couldn't fully evade Kazeshini's edge.
Shaking in shock, Calius barely had time to react as Shuuhei launched another attack, pulling on Kazeshini's chain to send it whipping back like a boomerang.
"Bakudō #62: Hyapporankan!"
Purple rods of light shot towards Calius, further restricting his movements.
Cornered, Calius tried to charge a Cero with his giant claw, but Shuuhei's scythe came spinning back, striking his shoulder with tremendous force and smashing him down into the ground.
Despite his injury, Calius showed no sign of giving up. Instead, he laughed with delight.
"Excellent! You're strong enough for me to fight seriously!"
With that, he shattered the final fragment of his mask, raising his power to its peak, then swung his massive claw down at Shuuhei.
But Shuuhei remained calm.
Same technique, same counter.
He threw Kazeshini again. Calius dodged it easily, but Shuuhei simply pulled the chain, and the returning scythe this time sliced off Calius' entire claw.
Realizing the danger, Calius poured all his power into one final Cero, aiming to take Shuuhei down with him.
Watching the Arrancar before him, Shuuhei remembered what Tōsen Kaname had once told him.
Indeed, he had become a Shinigami to follow Muguruma Kensei's path, but after joining the Ninth Division, it was Tōsen Kaname who influenced him the most.
"Those who do not fear the sword they wield have no right to wield it."
Holding this reverence in his heart, Shuuhei spun Kazeshini faster and faster, finally sending it flying straight through Calius' Cero, cutting through it effortlessly and piercing Calius' body.
At the same moment Shuuhei killed his opponent, however, one of the defensive pillars shattered into pieces.
All the Shinigami were shocked.
Because the defeated guardian's name was – Madarame Ikkaku.
That's right. Theoretically, Ikkaku should have been the strongest among the four defending Shinigami.
Yet, unbelievably, he was the only one who failed to defeat his opponent.
Lying on the ground clutching his broken Hōzukimaru, Ikkaku was like a flattened carpet.
Even worse, his opponent hadn't even used Resurrección.
Yes, a Captain-class fighter like Ikkaku was defeated by a Fracción who hadn't even released.
Truly, what an utter embarrassment.
With this single humiliating defeat, Ikkaku could now compete with Muguruma Kensei for the title of weakest Captain-class Shinigami.
If not for Kensei's even worse battle record, Ikkaku would undoubtedly become the standard unit for measuring "Captain-class incompetence."
The Arrancar who defeated him was named Choe Neng Poww, a giant with overwhelming physical strength.
Ayasegawa Yumichika was utterly dumbfounded.
"Oi… seriously? Ikkaku, what's wrong with you?"
He himself had defeated his enemy, yet Ikkaku, who was supposed to be far stronger, hadn't even forced his opponent to release.
Not just Yumichika – even Kira and Hisagi were speechless.
Why didn't Ikkaku use Bankai?
He thought he was hiding it well, but everyone in Seireitei knew he had Bankai.
Yamamoto-Genryūsai had even assigned him this defense role precisely because he possessed Bankai.
Who could have predicted that the one Yamamoto trusted most would end up being the first to screw up?
With Ikkaku's defeat, the fake Karakura Town began shifting back to the Human World.
Fortunately, Yamamoto had prepared countermeasures for such a situation.
It was originally meant for others, yet ironically ended up used on the one least expected to fail – Ikkaku.
Komamura Sajin and Iba Tetsuzaemon quickly arrived at his battlefield.
Iba threw down several pillars to stabilize the area, halting Karakura's return.
Komamura stepped forward and punched Choe Neng Poww, sending him flying.
However, despite taking a direct punch from a Captain, Poww stood up completely unharmed.
His durability was astonishing. Even though Ikkaku was weak, his Reiatsu was still real.
If Poww could crush Ikkaku without even releasing, it proved his immense strength.
And now, even Komamura's powerful punch hadn't hurt him, further proving Poww's terrifying might.
Facing a Captain-class Shinigami, Poww showed no fear and countered with a powerful punch of his own, sending Komamura flying backwards.
Knowing full well that this alone wouldn't defeat a Captain, Poww drew his Zanpakuto and finally activated his Resurrección.
"Breathe, Calavera!"
His green Zanpakuto dissolved into fragments as his massive body expanded with overwhelming power.
(End of Chapter)
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